&imwidth=800&imheight=600&format=webp&quality=medium "Niger files official withdrawal request from International Criminal Court: Here's why")
Niger's military-led government has officially submitted its request to withdraw from the International Criminal Court (ICC), the Hague-based tribunal announced on Tuesday. The move comes nine months after Niger, along with Mali and Burkina Faso, declared their intention to withdraw from the court. The three Sahelian nations are all governed by hardline military regimes that came to power in coups between 2020 and 2023 and have increasingly distanced themselves from the West.
In September 2025, they jointly accused the ICC of serving as a tool of neo-colonial domination and imperial influence. According to a statement provided to AFP on Tuesday, the ICC stated that it had received an instrument of withdrawal on June 18 from Niger, led by General Abdourahamane Tiani.
Deadly violence from jihadist groups
The withdrawal will become effective on June 18, 2027, one year after the notification date. Until then, Niger remains bound by its obligations under the court's framework. "While joining or withdrawing from a treaty remains a sovereign right of States under international law, we regret any decision to depart from the collective effort to end impunity for the most serious international crimes," the ICC said in its statement.
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Meanwhile, the ICC made no mention of Mali or Burkina Faso in its statement. The three Sahelian nations are experiencing deadly violence from jihadist groups linked to Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State; however, their militaries are also accused of crimes against citizens.
The International Criminal Court was founded in 2002 with the mission to prosecute the perpetrators of the most serious crimes, such as war crimes, when countries lack the will or capacity to do so themselves. The ICC has 125 member states at the moment. The United States and Russia are not among them, nor are Israel, China, or Myanmar.
